Ten Years On: How Experience has Shaped Holden Capital

The realisation that access to capital was at the heart of success for developments provided the impetus for HoldenCAPITAL’s founder to make the move into finance and eventually form his own firm.

Holden transitioned to construction finance after working as a project manager, where he was exposed to the challenges of managing the key elements of a project, from approvals, design, and delivery, to finance, sales and all the inevitable hurdles the market throws up.

“I realised after my first few projects that access to capital is the key to a smooth outcome and developers often underestimate how much affect it has on their ability to deliver successful projects…. which is why I made the shift from delivering projects to financing them,” Holden said.

After almost five years with one of Australia’s largest construction brokerage specialists, Ash Morgan, where he quickly became one of their most successful brokers, Holden decided to start his own business, HoldenCAPITAL, when Ash Morgan elected to refocus after the GFC—and he hasn’t looked back.

“I started out in my study at home, but it was clear the market was crying out for support, particularly as many of the lenders didn’t make it through the GFC and developers were short on options,” he said

Beginning in 2011, HoldenCAPITAL flourished and by 2015 Holden had a team of 12, an office in Sydney and was looking into Melbourne when the next big disruptor occurred—the major banks finally bent to regulatory pressure and began the gradual reduction of their sector dominance.

“In the space of a few years we went from over 75 per cent of our business set with the big banks to less than 10 per cent,” Holden said.

“Today it’s a rarity due to market demands and the hurdles required to meet their requirements.

“Our list of 40 lenders exploded and we soon had more than 160 and growing.

“The challenge is to understand both lender and client expectations and structure a mutually rewarding deal. It requires constant research and strong communications skills to satisfy both parties.”

Holden said he quickly identified the opportunity to participate in this lender growth but liked the idea of keeping it boutique as he had done with HoldenCAPITAL brokerage.

In 2017 HoldenCAPITAL Partners began lending investment funds into selected transactions handpicked from HoldenCAPITAL as well as from other brokers around the country.

The funding comes from many of the developers and other industry professionals Holden has worked with, along with other sophisticated investors including Cornerstone Family Offices.

Holden said he was keen to “to provide a quick and responsive service to smaller, savvy developers with good business plans, doing smart deals.”

In the past four years HoldenCAPITAL Partners has placed more than $160 million across around 40 transactions.

Holden said the key was that “we understand it from the developer’s perspective as do our investors and we focus on getting an outcome that is win-win for all”.

HoldenCAPITAL Partners targets site acquisition and residual stock loans on Australia’s eastern seaboard, and more recently construction facilities focused predominantly on small housing and townhouse projects, and well-located land subdivisions.

For investors interested in joining HoldenCAPITAL Partners investor group, you can register here.

For Borrowers interested in HoldenCAPITAL Partners lending options, you can find out more here.

Main image: Recently funded project by HoldenCAPITAL Partners - Four Luxury Houses, located in Inner-Brisbane.

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